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This is crazy micromanaging. I’ve worked at 3 companies since leaving public and never had to track my hours except for special projects like ERP implementation and the like.
My manager has done this with staff that are not performing well or are newer, but more as a planning tool before the week. For the new people, it's to understand how they are spending their time, where they need additional training to be more productive, and to make sure they understand the cadence of the work and how to prioritize it.
For low performers, it's to understand what the issue is (not working 40 hours, knowledge gap causing inefficiency, etc) and course correct.
All that said, my manager can be extremely micromanaging. She doesn't with people who've earned her trust to perform consistently though.
Your department is getting questioned and put to task about its budget and staffing. Everyone who makes a blanket statement about “industry is so much better“ forgets that these things happen too.
I’ll ask for this when I need to understand why the measures for success in a role aren’t being met. This could be because the staff isn’t trained, isn’t up to par, additional staffing is needed, they are taking on tasks I don’t know about, system issues, staff isn’t working 40 hrs, or is working inefficiently.
I use Timelines app to track my time. It’s helped me be more productive. I have categories and just hold myself accountable. If you’re being questioned, there might be issues with efficiency. See if self analysis helps you figure it out. It’ll also hold you accountable for easy reporting (tap to start a timer, tap to stop or switch). This is an example when I was studying for the CPA, each color is a different category (break time, work, study, sleep, cleaning/home, exercise, etc). You can design it however you want. Im not saying micromanaging is the right way to go, but something triggered the question and I’d rather get ahead of it by doing my own data than someone else analyzing me.
Maybe - are your tasks taking longer than others or do you struggle to talk through what you accomplished each week vs what was planned? It could also be the manager trying to understand where time in the dept is spent - for either budgeting, planning out workloads/needs for the coming year, planning for training/onboarding others in similar roles or reporting on potential improvements.
Tracking by the 10min can be inefficient and cause things to take longer. I think a better approach is what you’re working on vs what’s on your plate and if there are any delays or anticipated bottlenecks that you can get ahead of.
It depends on the industry and if you are working remotely. If your projects are longer-term, it might be the only way your manager can determine if projects are still tasking on track.